Johann Hari: My Interview with G. Gordon Liddy

Johann Hari: My Interview with G. Gordon Liddy:

"Despite his disgrace, one of Liddy's ideas is still at the heart of US policy today. He is one of the godfather of America's 'War on Drugs' - a wild rampage that continues to rip through the globe from Afghanistan to Colombia today. Liddy drafted the ideas for the Drug Enforcement Agency in 1971, and used it as an excuse to extend his gangster politics to Mexico and Turkey, amongst others. He describes him plans as 'an exercise in international extortion, pure, simple and effective.' The 'War on Drugs' continues in proud Liddy-style today. Only the last adjective - 'effective' - was never true. Predictably, he says the only problem with the 'War on Drugs' today is that it is too soft. 'We have stopped prosecuting minor drug offences in the US.' Really? The one million black men in jail or on parole for drug offences today might think differently. 'No, we need to fight this war much harder,' he says vaguely."